Saturday, July 4, 2015

[San Bernardino County] Grand Jury: Colton needs better record-keeping practices


There is no evidence to suggest that Colton City Council members were given preferential treatment by the city Public Works Department for having speed bumps installed on one councilman’s street and a brick wall repaired at the home of a councilwoman, the San Bernardino County Grand Jury has found.
The findings were part of the grand jury’s investigation into Colton’s management and financial record-keeping practices relating to capital-improvement projects, the council’s interactions with the city manager and city departments, the city’s annual auditing practices, and its outdated computer systems.
The grand jury specifically reviewed the approval process for the construction of speed bumps on city streets, and documentation revealed that the projects at issue were completed consistently with the city’s established procedures and guidelines.
“The grand jury uncovered no evidence to support allegations that favoritism was given to elected officials in the decision to approve construction of the speed bumps,” according to the grand jury report released Wednesday.
Council members Frank Gonzales and Susan Oliva came under fire last year when speed bumps were constructed on Gonzales’ street and a brick wall was repaired at Oliva’s home. The work was conducted by the city Public Works Department.
In October, the city announced it was revising its policy on installing speed bumps after its investigation into citizen complaints regarding Gonzales and Oliva concluded that employees weren’t following official policy when doing some of the work on the council members’ properties or in their neighborhoods. City officials attributed the problem to a new policy being drafted, employee layoffs that resulted in some employees filling in for others, and a lack of department heads at the time.
As for the city’s record-keeping practices, the grand jury concluded that the city’s financial reports are up to date, and a new finance manager has implemented procedures for maintaining records and has made them available to staff on computer or in hard-copy form, according to the grand jury.
The city is also in the process of updating its antiquated computer systems with the latest operating systems, with 200 computers already updated with 50 more to go, the grand jury reported.
However, there are no procedures in place to restore existing backup of city records at an alternate location in case of a catastrophic event such as an earthquake or a fire. But the city has hired more people in its information technology department as the city moves forward in updating its system as its budget allows, according to the grand jury report.
The grand jury has recommended the following:
• Establish a review schedule for the city’s policies and procedures, and date stamp them to show when they were approved or updated.
• Keep records stored in a secure facility that protects them in case of a natural or unnatural disaster such as an earthquake or fire
• Employees should adhere to existing policies for retaining records in hard-copy or digital form on computer
Repeated telephone calls to City Manager William R. Smith seeking comment were not returned on Thursday.
Councilman David Toro said Thursday he was unaware the grand jury had investigated the city, and was surprised by the news.
July 3, 2015
San Bernardino Sun
By Joe Nelson

No comments: